Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for users of IT technical services. In this issue:
• The quest for technical excellence
• Tech View: Unified Communications
• 10 benefits of Technical Consultancy
• Real Skills. Real People - B & M's Ruth Allsopp
• B & M TechConsult
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The quest for technical excellence
Amanda Dunn, Sales Director at B & M, explains why professional technical consultancy is vital to enable organisations to maximise the benefits from their IT
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"frameworks that link business goals to IT goals"
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Can you describe your IT organisation as a leader in innovation and process improvement? The answer to this question provides a useful guide when you are reviewing the strategic direction of the IT organisation.
In a survey of 75 global CEOs, Forrester found that only 28 per cent see IT as a proactive leader in innovation in their organisations and only 30 per cent see IT as a proactive leader in process improvement [source: My View: The CIO and the CEO by George F. Colony]. Given that the Board is increasingly expecting the IT organisation to play a significant role in improving business processes, controlling enterprise costs and raising workforce performance, these results are extremely disappointing.
This is highlighted in Gartner's report, Creating Enterprise Leverage: The 2007 CIO Agenda (February 2007), which shows that CIOs are looking for new sources of enterprise leverage, including technical excellence, agility, information and innovation. In particular, they want their IT functions to be more market-aware, building new strategic capabilities that use information to attract and retain customers. Yet despite this apparent desire at the top, there remains a gap between what the CIO and the Board want, and the way that IT is perceived.
The most expedient way to fix this disconnect is to use experienced, external technical consultancy - at both a strategic and operational level - to identify the gaps between IT and business objectives and to suggest ways to align these. External consultancy delivers independent innovation and insight, backed up by measurable benefits to productivity and RoI, in line with clearly-defined objectives that meet real business needs. Technical consultants can help ensure that the Board has a realistic expectation of what IT can achieve and that the IT organisation understands the market realities of what it needs to deliver.
For professional technical consultancy, contact B & M on sales@bmeurope.com
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Bringing it all together: Unified Communications
Paul Smith, Technical Manager at B & M Europe, looks at the trend towards Unified Communications
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Unified Communication (UC) is a significant and growing feature in business. The growing band of 'road warriors' who don't use an office base already rely on a single device for email and phone calls to keep in touch wherever they may be. Attending a meeting? They can use IP telephony and Video Conferencing. How about accessing office systems? The answer is WAP and VPN.
The problem with these facilities is that although they allow the individual to be more virtually available, it still requires a good deal of thought in your choice of communications. Let's take an example: you want to communicate with someone, they have a mobile phone, email, instant messaging, laptop with webcam and two landlines. Which of these five media and three phone numbers do you use?
What you need is greater 'presence', making the person you want to reach available in real-time. Software can be used to determine their whereabouts by reading their electronic calendar, finding their normal working hours, availability, geographic location and, importantly, whether or not they are online. From this information clicking on a name could automatically direct you as follows:
- On holiday or in a meeting - ring their assistant
- Do not disturb - send an email, voicemail, or both
- Out of mobile email range - send a text message
- On the internet using instant messaging in the USA - start an IM session.
Similar resources could be used for help desks. After determining some basic facts, a call could be routed to the most appropriate individual to help - anywhere in the world.
One stumbling block thus far has been the inherent incompatibility of systems. IBM, Microsoft, NEC, Cisco, Nortel and others all offer 'presence engines', each using proprietary technology. However this log jam could possibly be broken as Microsoft and Cisco have agreed to make their systems more compatible.
There are of course issues to consider before UC becomes viable:
- Do you have the network bandwidth available, everywhere you need it?
- Do you have the resilient systems you require?
- Do you need 99.99999% [known as 5-9s] uptime?
- Do you have technicians with the right skills available?
Whatever the future of Unified Communications, it seems certain that the convergence between what are now disparate communications technologies is set to increase.
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Real People, Real Skills: B & M's Ruth Allsopp
This month we profile Accounts Controller Ruth Allsopp
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Having worked originally in administration roles, Ruth then trained as a bookkeeper and worked with an accountancy firm in Leicester, providing bookkeeping and payroll services for local companies including golf clubs, factories and public houses.
Ruth relocated to Berkshire in 2000 and worked as an Accounts Administrator for Black Box Network Services, a worldwide provider of network infrastructure services and products. Her role here encompassed all aspects of the financial function as well as assisting with the administration of the company's car and van fleet.
In 2004, Ruth joined Secure Systems in Newbury, a company which specialises in commercial and domestic electrical and security installations. Ruth's responsibilities included purchase, sales, cash book and job costing functions, as well as processing the weekly and monthly payrolls.
Ruth joined B & M in October 2007 as Accounts Controller where she is now responsible for maintaining the payroll function for B & M staff, ensuring prompt issuing and payment of invoices, maintaining regular contact with B & M specialists, customers and suppliers and performing credit control.
Ruth has re-homed two dogs - a greyhound who didn't want to work for a living and a border collie. Ruth's dogs enjoy the same long walks that she does and while they're recovering, Ruth enjoys good food and wine and generally socialising with her family and friends.
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Ten steps to technical excellence
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The goal of achieving technical excellence within an organisation is laudable, but what are the key steps to achieving it?
1. Audit how IT contributes to technical innovation
2. Audit how IT contributes to process improvements
3. Employ IT Governance frameworks to clarify objectives
4. Match business goals to IT goals
5. Set SMART metrics for IT goals
6. Develop and document maturity models to measure achievement of goals
7. Develop a plan to optimise resources
8. Measure return on IT investment by reference to business goals
9. Import independent technical expertise to manage CEO expectations
10. Measure achievements by reference to business goals
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B & M TechConsult. Authoritative technical consultancy
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B & M TechConsult is a specialist technical consultancy service for large enterprise systems, delivering strategic advice and recommendations to enable projects to be implemented in a timely and cost-effective manner.
We offer authoritative technical consultancy services for z/OS, AIX, HP-UX, Solaris and Linux environments and network connectivity, with consultancy projects typically including:
- Strategic Reviews
- Feasibility Studies
- Audits
- ICT Health Checks
- Process development
- Technical assurance services
B & M TechConsult is undertaken using best practice standards, and objectives and deliverables are agreed in advance. For more information, contact sales@bmeurope.com
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